


Between Both Worlds

by RedGhost00



Category: Totsukuni no Shoujo | The Girl from the Other Side, 魔法使いの嫁 | Mahou Tsukai no Yome | The Ancient Magus Bride
Genre: Crossing Parallels, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 04:05:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10631838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedGhost00/pseuds/RedGhost00
Summary: A few years had passed, Elias managed to save Chise's life from the unfortunate fate. Now that she is 18, and she can live like a normal girl, their wedding ceremony will go as planned in a matter of two months. One day Chise decided to take a stroll at the forest, of course, with Ruth by her side. But she didn't expect to find someone in the forest.What would Chise do after she founds out that their visitors are actually from another world?[Ancient Magus Bride | Totsukuni no Shoujo] Crossover.





	1. What a Fine Morning

It was already morning, and Chise had already woke up from her good night sleep. She was eating breakfast that the Silkie already prepared for them, and Ruth was eating his alongside her in his human form. Elias was still sleeping in their bed, since he's not a morning person. But no matter; after all, he really had done something tiring for the past few days, so maybe he deserved to have a good rest as a reward.

Chise ate the last crumb of her toast, and took in the sunny side up eggs before she ended her meal with a cup of Earl grey. As she finished her breakfast, Ruth was done as well. She got up from the dining chair while the Silkie already took her empty plate and Ruth's before she went to the sink. Chise thanked the silver haired banshee before she left the place. The day was still early, so they won't be having customers for a while.

Maybe she should check out the cotton flies, it should be the time to shear their wool, she thought. And the laundry should be done as well today, Silkie must've washed them earlier before she went to make breakfast. Ruth was following her from behind as he already changed back into his dog form, before Chise turned to look at her familiar.

 **"Ruth, do you want to help me herd the cotton flies?"** she asked.

 ** _"Fine by me."_** Ruth already went his way out when Chise opened the door for him, and she could hear him barking at the roaming fluffy cotton flies that bleating at him as they try to flee. Chise only giggled.

She went to find the tools in the store. She needed a pair of shears and a woven basket to help her. As Ruth was busy herding them, she went to the store house outside to get what she needed. As she was walking her way there, she realized the sun was shining brightly, even if it was still early. It was a beautiful sight, she thought. Then somehow she let out a sigh.

_Another beautiful morning._

Another day she could see. It had been a few years already, which was already way past the due of her expected fate. Elias managed to find the cure for her curse and also to make her life last longer like any normal human being. She remembered that day, the day that Elias told her about the cure. The eagerness in his irises when he proposed the remedy that he worked for for almost a month. She still remembered the tiredness in his posture due to lack of sleep, though she doubt he would be needing it more than her since he isn't human. Still, he was willing to sacrifice his time and his own health just to save her.

 _ **"Chise? Are you alright?"**_ Ruth's voice rung into her ears, since they can speak telepathically. It broke her from her trance before she could realize she was staring at the trees. She turned to look at the dog, he was staring at her. The cotton flies were still roaming around, but he wasn't focusing on them for a moment.

**"Oh, sorry Ruth. Just thinking of something."**

_**"I know. I could**_ ** _tell_.** _ **"**_ he mused. She only laughed nervously, but Ruth was still staring at her.

 _ **"It's been a while since that day, isn't it?"**_ he spoke. She nodded slowly as she offered him a warm smile.

**"Yes, it has. I was actually glad. If he didn't find the cure that time, then maybe I wouldn't be here right now. I was completely indebted to him."**

_**"Not only you. I wouldn't be here as well. We are bounded together** **remember?"** _

**"Yes. You're right about that."**

There was only silence between them, except the sounds of bleating cotton flies behind Ruth.

 ** _"So... two months...?"_** he spoke as if it was a question. She turned back to look at the sun, hiding a faint blush. It wasn't much like an embarrassment, she was actually happy. But truth to be told, she was actually nervous about it.

**"Hmm.. I wonder if I am ready that time?"**

_**"I'm sure you will be. It's just a wedding, Chise. It will** **pass."** _ Chise looked at him with a slight disbelief. He was being insensitive.

 **"Easy for you to say..! You're not the one who's getting married!"** she could hear that Ruth was actually laughing at her. He knew that she was getting nervous and bashful everytime when that topic was brought up, and he likes to tease her about it.

 **"Y-You should be herding the cotton flies!"** she quickly changed the topic before she went her way to do what she was supposed to do in the first place.

__________________________________________

An hour passed, she finally finished shearing all the cotton flies. A sweat rolled down at the side of her face, before she wiped more sweat on her forehead. Ruth was already tired, running around keeping the cotton flies in one place. Luckily the Silkie already set them some refreshments to keep themselves, well, refreshed. The cotton flies were happily loitering around the house gardens, while some of them cuddled with Chise as they emitted some warmth that actually comforted her. She saw the Silkie setting a tray of cookies and tea for them. She thanked the Silkie once again, and she only responded with a bow before she turned to leave, not until a presence stopped her midway.

Chise saw the figure in front of the Silkie, and she only smiled. Looks like someone had already got up from bed.

 **"Good morning, Chise."** Elias' deep voice came to greet her in this fine morning.

 **"Good morning, Elias.** **"** she responded. She wanted to stand up and greet him properly, but the cotton flies seemed to make it harder for her to get up. Elias saw the situation she was in, and decided to come to her.

Ruth was already sleeping under the sunlight, near Chise, while the Silkie went back into the house to do some other chores. Elias took a seat beside her on the grass, and more cotton flies came to perch themselves on the magi. He was surprised by the sudden invitation, and Chise just smiled looking at him. He turned to look at her, before he went down to give her a slight nuzzle.

 **"Did you have any problems dealing with the cotton flies while I was sleeping?"** he asked out of concern, she shook her head assuringly.

**"Nope. Ruth was being a great help. How was your sleep?"**

**"Refreshing, I guess. I'm still a bit sore from yesterday's work, but I'm fine."** he assured.

She nodded at his statement, then they looked away, enjoying the serene view of the forest.

Then there was the silence. It wasn't the bad kind, but comforting. They enjoyed the company, and the warmth that the cotton flies were giving out, until Chise turned to look at him.

 **"Elias?"** she called out to him, he turned to look at her with a questioning expression.

**"Hm?"**

**"Would you mind if I go to the forest today? Don't worry, Ruth will be with me."** she explained. She could see he was having a thought, before he opened his mouth to speak.

 **"I don't see any problem about it, but is there something in the forest that intrigues you?"** she expected the question coming from him, good thing she got an answer ready.

 **"No. Nothing special. Just wanted to take a stroll that's all. I haven't gone to the forest for a while, so I thought that I could stop by."** she fiddled her fingers on the now thin wool of the cotton fly on her lap. Elias was still thinking about it, then he looked at the Grim, already yawning as he got up from his sleep.

 _ **"Don't worry, Elias. I'll make sure that she doesn't do anything weird."**_ Chise's sweat dropped as she heard those words coming out from her familiar. He heard their whole conversation? And what does he mean by ' _doing anything weird_ '?

 **"Well that settles it. I'm depending on you, Ruth."** Elias hummed happily as they both had an agreement that she didn't understand.

Then he averted his attention back to her.

 **"So, when are you going to the forest?"** Chise thought about it for a while, she needed to do some other chores and continue her studies before she could go somewhere else.

 **"Well... I was thinking of doing some laundry after this.."** Elias was thinking to himself once more, then he looked at her again, his skull face somehow brightened like he was smiling.

 **"Hmm... I could do that for you instead. Why don't you just enjoy yourself for a while?"** he suggested. She was a little bit surprised by his offer, and felt a bit guilty for burdening him since it was clear that he was still tired, and he got more things to do. Not to mention some trouble they just got themselves into recently.

She shook her hands, rejecting his suggestion, thinking it wouldn't be a good idea.

 **"No, you don't need to do that, Elias. Besides, I can go there some other time."** Elias shook his head. He looked at her straight in the eyes, as they locked gazes with each other.

 **"Don't worry about me. You haven't got to spend your time enjoying yourself these past few days. You deserve it."** he was serious about it. She was about to protest, but then he suddenly nuzzled on her head, feeling her red hair on his muzzle.

She blushed from his gesture, so she went mute. Even if he always does that to her like a routine, sometimes she would still blush on his simple affection. He leaned back to look at her, but she averted her gaze down to the cotton fly on her lap. He was a bit curious from her sudden silence, so he tilted his head trying to look at her face.

 **"Chise? Are you okay?"** he asked her. She quickly nodded her head, signalling him that she's fine.

 **"Yeah... I'm fine..."** she answered. He let out a sigh before he got up, leaving the cotton flies around him to fly away.

 **"I want to check if Lindel needs any help with the whelps, if you wanted to take your leave, just go ahead with Ruth."** he told her. She nodded her head, hearing what he said.

After he took his leave, Chise turned to look at Ruth, he was doing the same thing to her.

 _ **"So, when do you wanna go?"**_ Ruth asked the Slay Vega.

 **"I guess it would be better if we go early. What do you think?"** Ruth stood up before he shook his body, his long fur swayed roughly from his action.

_**"Whenever you're ready, Chise."** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Try Google Totsukuni no Shoujo if you want to know more about the manga. That story deserves an acknowledgement in my opinion. It is pretty much like Ancient Magus Bride, but the plot is a little bit different I guess.


	2. Hello?

The forest wasn't quiet like she thought it would. Their neighbors were laughing and playing around the trees as they skipped from branch to branch, looking at the Slay Vega with admiration. The little ones especially.

_**"It's the Robin!"** _

_**"Dearest Robin."** _

_**"Our Child of Night."** _

Countless names were heard behind the evergreens, and all of them were referring to her. She looked around, admiring her view, while Ruth was beside her keeping a lookout.

 **"The forest hasn't changed since the last time I visited here."** she spoke. Ruth averted his gaze to her, keeping his four feet in pace with her walking.

 _ **"Not much had happened here."**_ he answered, she only hummed in agreement.

She wondered what has the king and queen been doing in these past few years? She haven't seen them for a long time. The faeries kept on praising and calling her different names, but she only ignored them since she didn't see any point to confront them without a good reason. Elias already warned her about talking to them though, because some of the faeries were just as mischievous than they look.

 **"I wonder if the king and queen are here. It's been a while."** she voiced out. Ruth was sniffing the air, then down to the ground. He was picking a familiar scent nearby.

_**"I think they felt our presence Chise. I could sense them coming nearby."** _

Not long after, she could hear the sounds of steps coming from some sort of a four legged animal. They both turned to see what was coming to them, and speak of the devil.

Riding on the mule-like creature, comes the none other than the Queen of Faeries, Titania.

She smiled at their beloved Robin, as the mule she was riding came closer to her and the Church Grim. Spriggan lead the mule right to them.

 **"Ah, our Child of Night. It has been a while you came here."** she mused. Suddenly Ruth bowed down to the queen, and the faerie realized the gesture.

 **"I see that you brought your familiar with you."** Ruth quickly lifted his head up to confront the queen, a bit abashed.

 _ **"Your highness, it's a pleasure to meet you."**_ he spoke eagerly, yet politely.

 **"The pleasure is all mine."** she softly replied. Her eyes then averted back to Chise, her smile never stopped fading. Chise replied with the same smile to the queen.

 **"It is good to see you, your highness."** Chise answered. Then she saw the queen seemed a bit lost. She was looking around, as she was searching for something.

 **"Hmm... I see that Thorn isn't here."** she was looking for Elias. Chise only let out a nervous chuckle as she scratched her cheek.

 **"Uhh... well... he's a bit busy right now. I'm sorry on his behalf."** Titania only shook her head as she looked at the Robin.

 **"Don't be, my child. I understand him very well. He could be very well known with the other faeries."** she spoke. Chise only replied with silence. She actually didn't know what to say, since she knew that Titania had known Elias far longer than her, so it's obvious that she would understand. Ruth, on the other hand, went to greet the Sentinel along with his companions beside him.

 **"Well, what brings our beloved Robin into the woods?"** the queen asked with an amused tone, Chise was surprised with the sudden yet expected question, then softened her eyes.

 **"Oh, we were just.... visiting that's all... I haven't come here for a long time. Is it something that I shouldn't do?"** Chise was a bit panicked, the queen could tell. She knew the young girl was afraid that she done something wrong, so Titania just smiled lovingly at her.

 **"Oh no, my child. You are more than welcome to come here, anytime. You are, in fact, our precious Robin."** Chise sighed in relief. Titania took her precious time to examine the young girl.

Ah,  _no..._  the young woman.

Who knew that 2 human years could actually change a girl into a young adult. Chise is a beautiful young woman.

Her hair from her shoulder length now grew a bit longer until it went pass her shoulder blades. Some of her bangs was pulled behind and tied behind her head like she always do 2 years back. Her face looks a bit brighter and cheerful, she looks healthy. Her cheeks are perfectly full, and her green eyes is full of life as it sparkled. Her frame got slightly bigger, and she got slight curves that fit and appropriate with her size figure. She also got slightly taller and more mature.

Her body changed. But the kindness and compassion that she always had is still there.

 **"My, my... you have turned out to be quite a beautiful young lady."** Titania praised. Chise quickly lowered her head, hiding the faint blush slowly crept up on her face.

 **"Well um... it's been two years, your highness."** she replied softly. Titania chuckled from her bashfulness, then she continued.

 **"So tell me, child. How has it been between you and Thorn?"** Chise lifted her face to look at her, then she gave it a thought. She turned to look at Ruth who was enjoying the company of his faerie friends, remembering how she met him.

Things happened so much in a short time. No matter of it's a bad memory, even good. What matter is, how those experiences she had had changed her. Changed her to become who she is now. Changed  _both of them_. Lots of things happened between them, but one thing for sure,

It brought them closer.

 **"It's been well, your highness."** she answered with a smile. Titania was actually glad to hear that. It looks like the Child of Thorn had finally found what he needed for a long time.

 **"I'm glad you are happy along with Thorn, my child. I bless both of you an eternal love and compassion."** the queen chirped. Chise was about to thank the queen, then suddenly...

 **"Your highness, you should leave."** Spriggan warned. They both turned to the Sentinel, feeling a bit confused and alarmed at the same time.

 **"What is it, Spriggan?"** Titania asked. Then Chise realized that Spriggan wasn't the only one feeling a bit alarmed at the moment.

 _ **"He's right, Chise. Something's up. You should be careful."** _ Ruth warned Chise. The dogs of the Sentinel also were looking at the forest, and all of them, including Ruth and Spriggan, were looking at one particular direction.

Chise was a bit scared. Was there something dangerous coming? She was worried about the queen safety. Ruth realized what she was thinking quickly turned back to look at her.

_**"Chise, why don't you go first? Bring the queen with you back to the entrance of Tir na nÓg."** _

**"But what about you, Ruth?"** Ruth completely turned his way to Chise.

 _ **"Don't worry about me, Chise. I'll be fine. Just get the queen back to**_ ** _safety."_  **Chise wasn't convinced at first, but she knew she could trust him. She nodded at him, as she pulled the rope that lead the mule.

She pulled the mule away from the Sentinel and the dogs, as they were on their way to the Tir na nÓg. Chise turned to look at the queen, gave her an apologetic look.

 **"Forgive me, your highness. But I have to bring you to safety."** Titania was surprised from her words, but then she just smiled.

**"I'm fine, Chise. You don't need to worry much, dear."**

They both started to move. Chise pulled them further and further from the others, as she looked around for the correct path. While they walked through the forest in silence, Titania suddenly spoke.

 **"You seemed well, my child."** the statement quickly got her attention, so she turned to look at the queen with her bright eyes.

 **"I've never been better, your highness."** Chise softly smiled. Titania giggled.

 **"Seems like Thorn managed to find the cure for your condition."** Chise turned back to look at the path they were headed. She kept pulling the mule to lead to the faeries' homeland.

  **"It was hard, but he told me it was worth it."**

 **"Saving you is worth everything, my child... and it's not just because you're a Slay Vega..."** Titania voiced out. Chise was a bit surprised with the remark, so she stopped her tracks and looked at the queen, dumbfounded. Titania replied with a warm smile.

 **"As long as I knew Thorn... he seemed like a lost, innocent child..."** Titania turned to look at the forest, reminiscing the first time she set her eyes on the incomplete being.Chise ony started to listen.

 **"..having no purpose, he lived between the humans and faeries, observing them without question. He knew human could never accept him as he is, and neither the faeries would accept him as their kind."** she continued. Somehow Chise understood what the queen meant, because everyone seen it as an obvious thing.

 **"So he'd rather living on his own, the silver brownie as his only acquaintance. But yet he was still oblivious with everything around him, no one could understand how he thinks."** Titania closed her eyes, but then changed her scenery by looking into Chise's eyes, resembling pure nature.

 **"Until he met you. He puts you under his roof, taking care of you. Now, you had taught him how wonderful life would be. You had taught him joy, sadness, compassion, and loneliness... and so much, much more my child. You have made him a true living being."** Titania didn't stop there,

 **" You had taught him how to have a purpose in life. You had exploit all the hidden weaknesses and strengths that he never knew he had. You are his everything, my dear Robin."** the queen's explanation was far too detailed. Chise didn't expect to hear such words from her. But hearing all of them, how much affect she could give to Elias, actually made her happy. She felt like she was important, not as a Slay Vega, nor a witch or a magi; but as her own self.

**"My child, promise me you would take good care of Thorn. He still need to learn more about himself."**

She smiled at the queen.

 **"Don't worry, your highness. I won't leave Elias. That's a promise."** she started to lead the mule back on track, looking at the path they headed.

**"He is as important as I am to him, like how you implied. He taught me things that make me who I am. And he saved my life."**

**"As does you saving his, my dear."** Chise was speechless hearing those words, but she only plastered a small smile on her lips as they continued their small journey.

It didn't took long like she expected, surprisingly. After for 20 minutes, they reached the entrance of a huge tree. Maybe the queen helped them to reach faster, after all, she IS the Queen of Faeries. She quickly lead the mule to the hole, or more like a cave, but the mule stopped as Titania looked at Chise.

 **"You should come wih me to the land of faeries. You'll be more safer that way."** the queen suggested. But Chise shook her head, smiling softly.

 **"Thank you, your highness, but... I have to go back to my familiar. I can't let him do this alone."** at first the queen's eyes widened from her answer, but slowly softened when she looked Chise in the eyes. She gestured her hand, telling her to come closer. Chise was stupefied at first, but done as told.

When she got to a respectable distance, Titania quickly pulled Chise's face closer to her, letting their foreheads touching to each other.

 **"Be careful out there, my child. If you need our help, just call my children for their aid."** the action caught Chise off-guard, but her words reassured her that she's gonna be fine. She took a step back before she looked at the queen in the eyes, and nodded; before she left.

___________________________________________

Chise ran through the forest, looking for Ruth and the others. The other faeries were still lurking around the top of the trees, looking at her with intrigue. She stopped for a while, trying to catch her breath. Where are they? They mustn't gone that far, she thought. She wiped a few of her sweat, before she continued to run.

She searched high and low,

Left and right,

In and out.

But still no sign of them. She was getting worried. Did something happened to them? If there is bloodshed, then maybe she should've seen some blood while she's on her way; but there's none.

 **"Ruth?! Where are you!?"** she called, but there's no response. She called out to him again, same result.

 **"I wonder if I can sense through him? We are connected, after all.** she monologued to herself. She tried closing her eyes, concentrating in her mind looking for Ruth's sense.

But as she was about to get his sense, suddenly the sounds of crunching leaves caught her attention. She opened her eyes and darted her head behind her, looking for the source. Still nothing.

But she could see something.

Or someone.

The figure was small, and it was hiding behing a big tree. Chise gulped the lump in her throat. What was that? She was afraid to see what it was, but she was curious. Should she go there?

She inched her way closer to the tree, trying herself not to make any loud noises. She tilted her head, trying to look at the peeping figure. It looks human. And it was alone.

**"Hello...?"**


	3. Lost

**"Hello?"** Chise's voice broke the dead silence of the forest. Everything was still, even the faeries weren't there to play around or pestering her.

The silhouette hiding behind the huge tree was still there, but she could see it was peeking at her, before it went back to hiding. She took a careful step closer to the tree, hoping to not scare it away, or even let it pounce on her unexpectedly. The sounds of the dead leaves under her feet gave it away for each step she took. She was nervous and scared at the same time. Is it okay to do this?

 **"Um... I know you're there... hiding behind the huge tree..."** Chise continued to try communicating the silhouette. But as usual, the silhouette didn't reply.

Though ever so slowly, the silhouette suddenly got out from its hiding; slowly poking its head out as it looked at Chise. Chise tried to look how it looks like, her eyes widened.

It's a little girl.

 **"Um..."** the little girl looked scared, she only looked at Chise warily as she tried to hide further behind the tree.

Chise was stunned. Where did the girl came from? How did she ended up on the forest all alone? Where are her parents?

Well she won't get any answers if she kept staring at her like she was gonna pounce on her. So, she slowly approached to the girl, but the girl quickly hid behind the tree as if Chise couldn't find her. Chise didn't want to intimidate her, so she stopped her tracks.

 **"Don't worry.... I won't hurt you..."** Chise reassured her. 

The girl slowly got out from her hiding once more, looking at Chise with a worried face.

 **"You won't...?"** her voice chirped like a little robin, she looked so precious. Chise shook her head as she gave the girl a reassuring smile.

 **"I won't. I promise."** The girl hesitated, and Chise didn't mind **.** She is a stranger to her, so the girl was wise enough to take precaution. As the little girl mustered up her courage, she slowly got out completely as she stood timidly in front of her. Chise examined the bizzare look of the girl.

She was completely white. Reminding her of the first fallen snow that never got tainted. Her beady black eyes shine beautifully, and her cheeks are plump and red like ripe peaches. She wore a simple white dress, that matched the color of her shoulder length hair. She stood a bit far from Chise, but close enough for them to hear each other.

 **"Are you a faerie?"** Chise asked her. It might sounded dumb, but she couldn't help it if the girl looked so different. She almost looked magical.

 **"Faerie?"** the girl asked back innocently. She didn't know, so probably just a normal girl. But still...

 **"Where are your parents?"** Chise asked. The girl only fiddled with the hem of her skirt dress, looking down, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

**"I lived with Teacher."**

Teacher?

 **"You don't have parents?"** Sadness suddenly struck into the Slay Vega's heart. True, even Chise lost her parents, even her little brother. But this girl, she lost them at a far more younger age.

 **"I used to live with my grandma, but then..."** she suddenly went mute. Chise could sense the anguish in her voice, and the girl's eyes glistened with new formed tears. Maybe she just drop the topic. She didn't want the girl to cry.

 **"Where's your teacher, then?"** Chise changed the subject. Right in the blink of an eye, the girl suddenly looked up to see Chise's face, then suddenly more tears collected in her eyes and now fallen free onto her plump cheeks. She bawled as she wiped her childish tears from her now reddened face that was pale a while ago. Chise panicked right at the moment it happened and her mind went black. What would she do?!

 **"I lost Teacher!"** she continued to cry. Then Chise realized something that was so obvious. Chise took a few steps closer to her, but not too close. Chise thought of something that could comfort a little child. What would an adult do if there's a lost child?

They would help them to find the parents of course. So, Chise would try to do that, but before that, she needed to comfort the crying child.

 **"Please, don't cry... don't worry. You're not alone. I'm here to help."** Chise persuaded her. She kept crying, ignoring Chise, which made Chise sighed heavily.

 **"Come here. Let's find teacher together."** the mention of her Teacher actually caught her attention. She lifted her head, sniffled as she looked at Chise. Chise smiled at her warmly as she offered her open arms towards the girl.

 **"*sniff*.... you know Teacher?"** the girl asked. Sadly, Chise shook her head slowly, but her smile didn't falter.

 **"I know you're scared. And you feel lonely without your teacher. But I know exactly how it feels like when your loved one isn't with you."** she tried to reassure the girl. The girl was still scared, so she needed to gain her trust.

The girl was silent, but her eyes glued onto Chise. She needed to do something.

Of course.

She looked up to the trees, looking for something. The girl was curious on what she was about to do, until her eyes set onto something small moving behind the branches. A few winged faeries, popping out from their hiding as they looked at her and Chise.

 **"I need your help. Can you please come down? Don't worry, she's with me."** the faeries were hesitant at first, since they don't want humans to see them. But when Chise tried to convince them it was alright, suddenly came down one familiar faerie swooping down towards Chise.

 **"Chise! What do you want us to help?"** Chise smiled.

 **"Aerial! This girl is lost, and she needed to find someone she called 'Teacher'. You think you guys can help?"** Chise pleaded, of course, Aerial would do anything to help their beloved Robin, so she happily accepted the aid. The girl only stared at Aerial, in awe. She quickly went closer to take a good look.

 **"You're a faerie! And you're real?!"** both Chise and Aerial were surprised, so they exchanged looks with each other before they looked at the girl.

 **"Oh! A gifted Child of Man! She can see us!"** Aerial was startled at first, but Chise tried to persuade her.

 **"Please, Aerial! We need your help! Can't you at least do something?"** Chise pleaded once more, Aerial turned to look at Chise, her face made the expression of desperation for help, so the faerie let out a sigh of defeat.

 **"Fine... just think of this as a bargain. You owe me, Chise!"** Chise's face brightened with a smile.

 **"Thank you, Aerial."** Aerial then turned to look at the girl, her hands rested on her hips as she flew closer to the girl's face.

**"So, just tell us how this 'teacher' looks like, and I'll tell the others to go look for him!"**

**"He's black, and got two long horns on his head. Oh, and he's also got some puffy hair right at his neck. He wears a white shirt with a ribbon. And he got a tail!--"** the girl kept on and on about her 'teacher' but Chise could see the excitedness in her irises, as she told them about her teacher. She must've love this person very much. Though by the way she described him, he almost looks inhuman, just like Elias. Chise got doubts in her mind, but she couldn't just let this girl be on her own; and maybe she got her own story to tell.

 **"He sounds exactly like the bonehead! Well, we try to look for him, I'll tell you if I find anything familiar."** then Aerial went up to the trees, calling up her brothers and sisters to go search for 'Teacher'. Not long after, the faeries scattered.

Chise let out a sigh of relief. She then turned to look at the girl near her, smiling. The girl looked up to see Chise, her hands now fiddled with each other as nervousness caught her once more.

 **"Don't worry, my friends will help finding your 'Teacher'. How about we go find him together while we have the time?"** Chise assured her. Somehow she could see that she was in awe with Chise.

 **"They're your friends, big sister?"** the nickname caught her off-guard, it actually reminded her of her little brother, but she quickly shook it off her head.

**"Mhmm...! They're my friends. They can be mischievous at times, but they're nice."**

**"Are they really gonna help me find Teacher?"** Chise could hear the happiness inside her voice, which actually made Chise relieved.

 **"Yup! But it would be more easier to find him if we go search for him right now, right?"** Chise tried to persuade her again, this timethe girl nodded. The tears at her eyes now dried as she already stopped crying, replaced with giggles.

Suddenly, she went towards Chise with her arms opened wide so that she hug the older girl right between her stomach and hips. Her grip on Chise grew tighter. Chise didn't know how to confront chidren very well, but she would try her best.

Chise slowly rested her hands one on the girl's back, while the other went to caress the soft white locks of the little girl. She hushed her, looking at the girl lovingly even though the girl couldn't see it.

The girl hugged Chise with all her might, feeling a bit happy and safe.

 **"Thank you big sister.... you're a nice sister."** It surprised Chise, but she only smiled.

 **"Now let's go find your teacher."** the girl released her grip from Chise, as Chise offered her a hand which she happily accept.

They walked hand-in-hand, went deeper into the forest as she walked beside Chise. Chise turned to look down beside her, watching the girl wearing a cute smile since they are going to find her 'Teacher'.

 **"What's your name?"** finally Chise asked. The girl looked up with a smile, showing her a perfect set of pearly whites.

**"Shiva!"**


	4. Black Horns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to say, English isn't my first language. So, sorry if it's a bit imperfect, but I'll try to make it enjoyable to read. I'm using all the knowledge I have collected in my English class right now.
> 
> I can't stop the feeling of blooming warmth spreading in my heart, the Ancient Magus anime just ended with such a heartwarming ending! (call me soft hearted but I got a weak spot for romance anime/manga)
> 
> I won't change anything in the previous chapters, but I will simply change the meaning of Chise's curse which implies on the Dragon curse that was cured. The story will eventually take place after the anime's ending.

**"What's your name, big sister?"** Shiva asked Chise asked they walked through the forest holding hands. Chise guided the young girl through the woods, but her eyes now attentively looking at the white-haired girl.

 **"Just call me Chise."** Chise smiled at her while Shiva then turned her head looking at the trees.

 **"Chise-neesan, do you live here?"** her voice chirped along with the small birds that were singing on the branches.

Chise looked around, then nodded her head at her.

 **"I lived nearby. Outside the forest."** she explained. Shiva hummed on fascination hearing her explanation.

 **"Can I come?"** she then looked at the older girl once again, smiling with excitement in her tone. Chise gave her a soft smile as she slowly nodded at her.

 **"Of course you can. But we have to find your teacher first. He might be lost somewhere."** Shiva only nodded in response, but suddenly pulled her hand as she started to run ahead.

 **"Then let's find Teacher! C'mon Chise-neesan!"** Shiva almost got Chise to stumble, but she managed to catch up with the spritely girl as she fastened up her pace of walking with hers. Chise only let out a giggle.

They kept on searching for the person, looking around through the forest.

 **"Shiva slow down! I-I can't keep up!"** Chise was still struggling to catch up with her, but somehow Shiva only let her words fall on deaf ears.

 **"But if we don't hurry, we can't find Teacher! And I can't visit neesan's house!"** she spoke. Chise kept on following from behind, starting to lose breath.

 **"But do you know where to find-- teacher?"**  Chise trying to catch her breath; suddenly Shiva stopped her tracks. Chise almost bumped on her, but she stopped right on time.

 **"I...I don't know neesan..."** her head hung low, with disappointment evident in her voice. Chise managed to sigh. She caressed her back and started to lead her once more.

  **"Let's just take the time we need. We don't need to rush things. Okay?"** Chise squatted down a little to Shiva's level, the girl seemed a bit unsatisfied; but she slowly nodded her head.

Chise smiled once again, so she stood up and pulled Shiva's hand carefully to continue their search. They walked with utter silence, Chise and Shiva only looked around the place for Teacher. The girl called out to him, though Chise only let her; and she felt a bit awkward if she called out as well. Curiosity got the best of Chise, so she started to speak.

 **"How long have you been staying with 'Teacher'?"** finally the question got out from her mouth. Shiva slowed down for a while, before she pondered in her own thoughts. Suddenly her face brightened up with a smile, then she looked at Chise.

 **"Very long! Teacher is a nice person! He always protects me from bad people! But he is bad at sewing, and his cooking is also very bad.."** her tongue stuck out and she made a disgusted face as if she actually remembered how the cooking tasted like. Chise smiled from the young girl's expression.

**"I'm sure he's really nice."**

**"He is! Chise-neesan should meet him!"** she chirped.

 **"Do you like him?"** Shiva nodded vigorously as she smiled a bit wider.

 **"Hmm! I love Teacher veeery much!"** Chise softly laughed. Shiva is so innocent, she is like as pure as white snow.

It took a while, until suddenly something came swooping down from the trees, stopping completely in front of the girls. It made Chise jumped at first, but then her shoulders relaxed after she knew who it was.

 **"Aerial... did you find anything?"** Aerial's wings fluttered as she tried to control her height level with Chise's eyes.

  **"I found someone came running around in the forest. He looks like a shadow! He is everything what the girl says, so I think he's the one. He looks like a stranger to me."** Aerial explained. Chise nodded at Aerial, understanding what she said.

**"Thanks Aerial! Can you show us the way?"**

**"Only if you can keep up!"** Aerial started to fly away, and Chise and Shiva started to look at each other before they started to follow the faerie.

____________________________________________

They ran through the wilderness for a few minutes, until Aerial stopped and turned towards them.

**"He's right over this area. I'm pretty sure he was hiding."**

Aerial was right. She could sense a presence nearby, but somehow the presence wasn't harmless. It felt.... menacing. Something's not right about this feeling, she thought. She looked at Shiva; the girl was looking around at the forest, with eagerness in her eyes to look for her teacher.

 ** _"Chise? What are you doing here?! It's dangerous!"_** Suddenly Chise could hear Ruth's voice in her mind. Ruth was nearby, but she couldn't see him. She looked around searching for the Church Grim, but nowhere to be found. At least he was near the distance.

 _ **"Ruth! I'm fine. But I need your help."**_ Chise answered back through their telepathy.

_**"What do you want me to help with?"** _

_**"Can you feel a presence?"** _

_**"Yes, I can sense it. Be careful, Chise. This aura isn't like what we encounter before. It felt... different."**_ Ruth warned her. 

 _ **"If you found where the presence is, don't attack it yet."**_ Chise's request caught him surprised, and he was confused.

_**"What?"** _

_**"Just do as I say. I have something else in mind. Trust me."** _

_**"*sigh* Just as I already promised to Elias that you won't do anything weird."** _

_**"Please, Ruth."**_ she pleaded. There was silence, then she heard him sigh again inside her mind.

 _ **"*sigh*... fine. But don't do anything reckless alright?"**_ Chise was smiling on her own.

_**"Thanks, Ruth."** _

_**"I'm coming to you. Just stay where you are."**_ he replied, before they broke their telepathy connection.

Chise could sense the presence was getting stronger, so she started to pull Shiva's hand as she started to move. Aerial followed suit.

 **"Follow me. But be careful."** Chise told her. Shiva only nodded her head.

  **"Okay."**

She started to walk closer, and the aura started to get stronger with every step she took. Her heart began to beat faster than it should be. She was nervous, sweat already seen on her face, as she focused on one area that she expected to see the intruder.

 **"Is anyone there?"** Chise started to ask in the open. There was silence, but then she heard someone grunting, as if it was wincing from pain.

 **"What do you want from me...?!"** the voice came out hoarse, and deep. It sounded so desperate and tired. Then Chise could smell something metal.

It was blood.

Shiva recognized the voice, as she quickly let go of Chise's hand and rushed straight to where the intruder should be. Chise panicked, she wanted to chase after her until she saw something hiding behind the tree, the tail gave away its position.

 **"Teacher!"** Shiva's voice broke between them, and eventually, she could see the figure behind the tree moved in a rash matter as it stood up from its sitting.

Then she saw it.

Standing almost as tall as Elias, but lean, wearing a black cloak that covered its whole body. The color of its face was as identical as the cloak's, and it got two long, pointy horns on the side of its head. Its eyes had a bright glow, looking down at the running girl before it.

The eyes softened to a degree when it saw Shiva running towards it. But Chise could see something dripping under the cloak. And she could see something sticky running down on its head.

The creature was bleeding.

As Shiva was about reach the dark figure, they were a few inches closer. But something else was growling from a distance. It pounced out from the nearby bushes, taking a huge bite on the dark figure's arm. Shiva was surprised from the sudden attack, and she stumbled back landing on her bottom to the forest floor.

 **"Arrghh!"** the figure yelled out, as it tried to pry off the black dog from its arm. Luckily it wasn't Ruth, but the dogs that the Sentinel controlled. 

Shiva looked terrified, and worried. 

 **"Teacher...!"** she called out.

 **"Stop! Don't hurt him!"** Shiva struggled to stand up as she ran towards the dark figure, trying to help it.

 **"Shiva, stay away! It's dangerous!"** Chise ran towards the little girl, but Shiva was far too close to them, and it would be too late for Chise to save her.

But then something else came, stopping the little girl to advance further.

 **"Ruth!"** she was glad that her familiar came in just in time, or else things wouldn't go pretty. Shiva looked at the Church Grim in awe, she was dumbfounded.

Ruth turned his head towards the two creatures battling with each other, he could see the owner of the dark presence was struggling itself from the grasp of the other black dog.

 _ **"Stand back, Chise! Take the girl away from here and go back."**_ Chise could hear Ruth's voice was filled with anxiety, and he may have a point to go back. But she couldn't just let the Sentinel take out the black creature. She knew it was Shiva's 'Teacher', and she didn't want any unwanted events happened to him.

 **"But I couldn't let them hurt him! We have to do something!"** Chise spoke in a panicked tone. Ruth grunted as if he didn't know what to do in this situation.

_**"But talking out from these guys isn't gonna do any good."** _

**"Then we have no choice but to stop them by force."** Chise quickly responded to his statement as she ran towards Shiva who was still sitting on the ground, now terrified. She pulled the little girl up to her feet, letting Shiva stood closer to her as she held tightly onto her shirt.

 **"There's only one that's hurting him. We should stop it before the others come to help."** Chise spoke as she looked at Ruth, and her familiar then looked at the only black dog that was biting it. Ruth took a good look at Chise, before she finally nodded at him with reassurance.

The Church Grimm then looked back at the black dog harassing the tall creature, having a thought to himself for striking the Queen's children, before he pounced on them.

_**Forgive me, Your Highness.** _

Guilt overpowered his mind, but his senses still edging him to do this, for Chise's sake. The dog was caught off-guard from the familiar, finally getting its attention towards him. It growled at Ruth as he responded with the same gesture. The tall wounded creature that just got bit stood where it was, a bit awestruck on what was happening as it held onto its fresh wound. 

 **"Run!"** Chise shouted, catching the 'Teacher's' occupied mind. It heard her warning, quickly got itself out from the scene, a few grunts managed to escape from its mouth as blood trickled down to a trail as it travelled.

 **"Follow me!"** Chise called out. 'Teacher' only looked at her from a distance, then it nodded in understanding. She pulled Shiva's arm as she guided themselves out from the forest. Shiva didn't have a chance to respond towards the tall cloaked figure that was tailing them.The 'Teacher' followed suit from behind.

 ** _"Do you think you can hold it off, Ruth?"_** Chise asked the familiar through her mind, taking a glance at the fight. Ruth took a reassuring look at her as he nodded at her to keep going, before getting his attention towards the growing fight. 

 ** _"Not quite long, but enough for you guys to get out. Now go back to Elias!"_** he instructed. Chise hummed in understanding. The barking and growling started to get louder as the fight began. They bite each other off as they strangled themselves in the 1-on-1 fight.

She made sure that the black creature was following them from behind, but it was lagging from its movement due to its injuries. The one that it got earlier was the least thing they need to worry to be honest. It took them a while to lost sight of the fighting faeries, so Chise stopped her tracks when she felt the confidence that they were far enough from the fight. Chise stood where she stopped, Shiva still holding onto the older girl's hand with curiosity got into her eyes.

She let go of Shiva's hand as she turned around, walking slightly towards the tall creature before stopping midway, hearing it huffing and puffing from all the running, until it collapsed onto its knees on the ground. Probably because it was already in deep pain. Blood still oozing out from its body, until it almost managed to make a pool underneath its feet. Chise slowly approached the horned man, a feeling of doubt and fear still lingered inside.

The aura that the 'Teacher' was emitting was very menacing and dark, that she almost felt like vomitting from the putrid atmosphere. It was terribly strong deadly aura, so deadly it could kill the trees; luckily it didn't though. She was having doubts that this could be Shiva's 'Teacher', afraid that it might be some dangerous faerie shapeshifters around the woods. But Shiva's sudden actions caught her baffled.

 **" _Teacheerr!!!_ " **The little girl cried out its name as she ran passed Chise, towards the kneeling figure in front of her. Chise tried to call out to her to stop the girl, but the cunning child managed to slip out from Chise's grasp. Her little hands managed to clutch onto the large cloak covering its bloodied stature, hugging it with all her might as a few sobs managed to escaped from the little girl. She could hear a soft relieved sigh coming in between the pants of the tired creature, patting her back soothingly as a respond to her affection.

 **"I'm glad...you're alright... Shiva..."** he grunted. Hearing that name coming from the creature, finally she felt the relief suddenly washed over her whole body. It was really Shiva's 'Teacher'. After seeing the scene, she had the courage to take a step forward towards the duo.

 **"** **You need to be treated immediately** **. You can't survive any longer with those wounds!"** Chise approached closer, insisted the man that  _he_ needed desperate help. The man in cloak saw Chise slowly approaching, worry was evident on her face. He could guess that she meant no harm since she saved him from the dogs just then, so might as well.

 **"Thank you... for saving me... but I think... I'm gonna be fine.."** he spoke slowly. The blood loss started to make him dizzy. Chise saw the mass amount of blood under his cloak couldn't take his answer as truth. She started to grow more worry.

 **"My home isn't far away from here, I'm sure my friend the Silkie can help you with your wounds. Please come with me!"** She finally approached right to his side, placing her hand on his cloaked shoulder. She could see that the Teacher was hesitating, looking away in his own thoughts.

 **"Thank you... but I can't... I must get going... We need... to get home..."** he declined the offer, which got Chise's face to drop into a frown. 

 **"C'mon, Teacher! Let neesan help you! You're... You're bleeding!"** The innocent little girl suddenly cried, getting the adults' attention. She was already a sobbing wreck. Her hands clenched onto his cloak as she looked at him with tear-filled eyes, sobs escaped a few to many times much to his dislike. He was a bit speechless, looking at the poor girl worrying about him.

He lifted his hand using all the strength he had, pushing away a few strands of hair off her face, then wiping her clear fresh tears cascading down on her plump cheeks, letting out a sigh.

 **"I don't... have a choice... do I?"** she shook her head vigorously, letting some left out tears fell on the forest floor. 

Teacher clenched hard onto his abdomen as he seethed out a grunt. The pain suddenly intensified as he slightly moved, which was not a good sign. Chise quickly knelt down to help him get up from the floor. The wound started to get worse.

 **"We need to get you to the cottage fast! Let me help you get up."** Chise spoke. But as she was about to take his hand, the man retracted away in a rash manner.

 **"Don't touch me...!"**  he warned, and ended up with a cough. Chise was a bit surprised from the sudden gesture. Shiva saw what Teacher did quickly screamed.

 **"Teacher! Don't be stubborn! Let Chise-neesan help you!"** more tears came flowing like a river, Teacher's sweat dropped as he was torn with tough decisions.

 **"But..."** Teacher was about to oppose, but Chise shook her head disapprovingly. She needed to be firm to help him whether he liked it or not.

 **"You need to trust me, we need to get you back to the house, now!"** Without warning, she took his free hand and slung it on her shoulders before she slowly got up. Though she suddenly felt a sting when her skin contacted on his own. The dark creature hesitated and he slightly gasped, but slowly gave in and followed suit. Shiva already let go of his cloak, instead helping pushing him up from the blood pooled ground.

 **"Can you walk a little more?"** she asked out of concern. Even if he said no, he got no choice. The girl wasn't strong enough to carry him back to the cottage all by herself, and Shiva was not a good help in this kind of situation either. Teacher slowly nodded as he puffed out a few tiring grunts. She took a few little steps so that he could keep up, it might take a while, but better safe than sorry. Shiva walked alongside Teacher as she held onto his cloak, worried.

They walked through the forest for a while, taking one step at a time closer to her home. As they walked, Chise managed to take a few glances at Teacher. He looked a bit pale despite his dark 'feathery' skin, but he still had an ounce of strength to keep moving with wounds covering his body. His other hand was trying its best to hold back the pain on his abdomen.

The glowing eyes hooded with complete fatigue, but the brightness didn't falter like polished ambers. Once she thought about it, he really did reminded her of Elias. They looked almost completely identical, just in terms of their size, Elias is a bit larger. She even had a thought if they might be related to each other since they both looked the same. But maybe now wasn't the right time to ask questions.

She then look at Shiva, the little girl was sniffling as she wiped her tears that managed to get out from her eyes still holding onto the man's cloak. She could really see that Shiva cared for her Teacher very much, seeing her in such a way suddenly made her heart ached for the little girl. The more reason for her to save Teacher.

However, all that aside, she couldn't ignore the burning sensation she was feeling on her skin as it touched his charcoal skin. She wondered if her hand was scalding. That won't be a concern, she thought. Even though she felt the stinging pain, she needed to bring him back home to help with his wound.

  _Almost there,_ she thought. Just a little more steps and she will see the cottage house. But just as she was about to feel relief...

_***Growl*** _

The menacing sounds startled them from behind, and she knew it wasn't Ruth. If it was Ruth, she could'ce sensed him sooner before he got this close. She and Shiva turned around to see another black dog, to be precise, 2 more black dogs. It must've been the other reinforcements that had caught his aura and blood trails left from their escape. Then another one jumped out from the bushes right in front of them by surprise. All of them growled as they took a step closer. They were surrounded.

Shiva whimpered as she held onto Teacher's cloak, and she could feel his weak, bloody hand managed to hold onto her back, giving a reassuring protection. But Chise could sense that he was getting weaker by the second, his consciousness fleeting along with his heartbeat. He lost too many blood. She didn't have much time to save him.

 **"Please, let me help him. He's not dangerous, please!"** she pleaded, but the dogs didn't obey her plead. They got even closer with bloodthirsty looks on their faces, Chise only managed to gulp down the lump in her throat as she was lost for initiatives. Ruth wasn't with her right now, and she could sense that he was too far to come and save her in time. She was in deep trouble.

The dogs slowly walked closer, until they were close enough to pounce towards the three with sharp fangs. Shiva screamed out of fear, Chise only closed her eyes, but she didn't expect the impact to come. 

She knew he would come for her aid. 

If it wasn't for the ring, she only needed to call out,

_**Elias.** _

Just in time, a flock of familiar black feathers covering her from above.  


End file.
